Oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface and support an extraordinarily diverse world. Only a fraction of it has been discovered so far and much of ocean life remains a mystery which IUCN experts are striving to unveil.
It is estimated that more than 1 million species live on coral reefs alone, and as many as 10 million in the deep seas.
The threats facing the marine environment are numerous and complex yet less than 2% of the oceans are protected.
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About marine and polar conservation
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Where have the sea turtles gone?
“Sea turtles don’t come to nest on our beach anymore!” said Mr. Minh, a member of Sea Turtle Nesting Beach Protection, a volunteer network in Quang Tri Province. Despite the participation of nearly 3,500 local residents and school children in beach protection, a recent survey found that, since 2007, no marine turtle nests have been recorded in Quang Tri, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai Provinces and the very few nests that remain in Binh Dinh Province are on off-shore islands. Meanwhile, according to a 2009 report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 1,000 mature turtles a year are killed accidentally by fishermen as “by-catch”. …
26 Apr 2013 | Article
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Raising Seagrass Awareness among Youths in Palk Bay, India
We initiated an exclusive seagrass awareness in Palk Bay since October 2012. Our team visits local schools and then invite the students to our centre for field trip. …
23 Apr 2013 | News story
Meeting on Islands challenges at the European Parliament to take place on May 7th, 2013
Islands – key actors: What kind of partnership at the EU level?
Meeting jointly hosted by the European Parliament intergroup on Biodiversity and Climate change and prepared by the IUCN on EU Overseas Programme, the Marine and Polar Programme (GMPP) in close collaboration with the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA)
18 Apr 2013 | News story
